Life Lately

I haven't written in forever it seems! These past few weeks have been Weddings Galore for us! We had a wedding last Saturday and then the following Friday. Who doesn't love a dinner party celebrating love? 

One wedding was an outdoor affair at a golf course, while the other one- an inside dance party.

I love it when Bryan gets dressed up! In his perfect world everyone would wear work out shorts and t-shirts everyday, but doesn't he look so handsome in a suit?

Aside from Weddings, we have been keeping busy with volunteer events, church, work, and leadership development courses. Life is busy, but busy is good! 

My nephew came to visit a few weeks ago and I absolutely loved spending time with him! 

Seriously I cannot get enough of that kid!

As far as running, I have been consistent but not doing any serious training lately. I have been keeptng to my 5 miles a day 5 x a week routine and it is working for me for now. 

New Nike Running Shoes + Running on the weekend in the sunshine = PURE HAPPINESS! 

Have a great night! I hope to check in on here more often!

XOXO,

H

I Love Art

Blank canvases. Every time I sit down to write a blog post I am overcome with the excitement of a blank page to fill with the details of my life. I am so thankful for this creative outlet.  Which is a perfect lead-in... I am so appreciative of art in general- whether it is music, writing, painting, or whatever. I love seeing firsthand how people express themselves in creative ways.

This past weekend, I had the privilege of attending ArtiGras Festival.  It was a huge event, marked one of the top 20 art festivals in the nations, that invited artists from all over to display their works of wonder.

My mother-in-law, her friend, and I spent the entire afternoon browsing the art on display.  The weather was gorgeous!  High 70s and breezy sunny.

I was drawn to one particular artist who carved small fairies to hang from the ceiling.  So whimsical and cute. 

I ended up not buying one, but one day I would love to decorate a little girls room this way. 

Speaking of rooms:  We decided on a paint color I think!

What do you think?  We are going to do our living room/kitchen/dining room in the color circled above.  I am going to try to pair it with orange tones like the pillow listed above.  For a fresh and modern look.

After all the art-viewing I took part in, I decided to also buy a blank canvas and attempt to create some sort of abstract piece for our living room. I will keep you posted.

MY RUN:
So far this week, my workouts have been very sporadic due to the business of my work schedule. but I did decide to go for a few nice jogs after work.

Whenever I can I try to get outside to enjoy nature.  Even if it is in a residential area. 

 

Last but not least, here is a picture of a little bit of nature in a vase.



Bryan brought them home for me the other day. What a sweet hubby he is!  Not to mention, extremely hot stuff, especially when using tools to fix up our house :-)

I married a good one ;-)

Hope you have a great weekend!

House Update; Paint samples

Last night I did another couple of treadmill miles after work. I was getting cloudy outside and I knew rain would be coming so I decided not to risk it. In the end I did 4 miles again.

I am excited to announce that we finally are ready to paint our place!! (HUGE GRIN) Later on, last night, while I was at bible study, Bryan and my mother-in-law did a few test walls of the paint color we are still deciding on for our main living/dining area. We decided to try out "Breath of Fresh Air" by Benjamin Moore.


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I came home and knew instantly that it seemed a little to boys bedroom-ish.  Sometimes you just have to try something to know for sure. I started looking through pinterest and came across a "Creative" inspired pallet at Lowes and think I may change the walls to a light teal. Called "Geyser," it could be pretty:

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Or there is always the pallet below:





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So basically, I have no idea what I want!  Here's to a lot more samples in the coming weeks! :-)

Question:

Do you like color on the walls or neutrals?  (I am just curious for feed-back for a re-sale standpoint)

Coconut Pineapple Chicken

MY RUN:

I decided to get in a few slow treadmill miles last night while dinner cooked in the oven.  I ended up running 4 miles in 32 minutes while watching an episode of "Friday Night Lights" on my Kindle Fire.  I made it to season 3 and love it so far!


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It really is the perfect to show to watch during a run, it's 40 minute long. includes football inspiration talks, and high school romances, and it keeps me interested so I forget I am running...almost! ;-)

For dinner I decided to make up a recipe. I had two thawed, plump, organic grass-fed, hormone-free chicken breasts in my fridge and was in the mood for something sweet.

I ended making Pineapple Coconut Chicken served with Citrus Slaw and Quinoa. For Dessert I ended up making 4-Ingredient Protein Peanut Butter Balls modified from a few recipe ideas I saw on Pinterest.

It was so easy!!

Coconut Pineapple Chicken
Crushed Pineapple
Coconut Oil
Sweetened Coconut Flakes
Lime Slices for garnish

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Preheat Oven to 350F
Rub Coconut oil on a 8x8 glass baking dish
Place 2 thawed Chicken Breasts in baking dish
Cover with a large can of crushed Pineapple
Top with a small handful of Sweetened Coconut Flakes
Bake for 50 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through.  May add hot sauce depending on you taste for a more Polynesian-flavored dish.

Citrus Slaw
Bag of sliced Coleslaw Cabbage
1TB Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2c Light Mayo with Olive Oil
1TB Sugar
2TB Sweet Pickle Juice

Mix the last four ingredients together in a small bowl
Pour over the shredded cabbage and mix
Refrigerate until ready to serve

Protein Peanut Butter Balls
1c oats
1c peanut butter
3/4c protein powder
3/4-1c honey or maple syrup 

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Mix all ingredients together and roll into small 1inch balls
Refrigerate until ready to serve

Overall, Bryan and my mother-in-law liked the meal! :-)

This Weekend

This weekend, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and family friend were in town.  Saturday morning, I went for a quick run and then met up with them to tour a few properties near the beach.  The market is so good now, it is always enticing to see what's out there in terms of vacation beach rentals.

 

Afterwards, we went for a nice walk along the coast.

 

 

 Followed by lunch- Fresh Capris Salad and Gazpacho.

Yes, my mother-in-law is amazing!  Her cooking is delicious!
We finished the night at my relative's house for dinner.

And the star of the show: Key Lime Pie from "The Upper Crust" bakery!

On Sunday, I slept in til 10am, then started with a beach run along the coast

After a quick 30 min jog, I met my family at a beach café for brunch.

Followed by a trip to the green market and trip to a turtle aquarium.

 After a fun day of adventure, we came back to my mother-in-law's condo and relaxed for a bit.

I ended the weekend with a dinner date at Panera with Bryan followed by attending the night service at church.

It was so nice to get in some quality time with family. I am so refreshed and ready for work today!

 



 

Questions:
How was your weekend?

Beach Run

My mother-in-law is visiting this month and staying along the beach.  The other night after work I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and go for a run along the ocean and then stop in to hang out with her and Bryan for dinner.

MY RUN: this run was on much different terrain than I have run on in quite some time. I ran on packed down sand that was at a slight angle.

 It actually felt wonderful on my feet. The sun was just beginning to set and the weather was breezy and 80s.

 

As I jogged I saw a few people walking their dogs along the coast and others eating picnics by the shore.

This run was relaxed pace and painless again, thank God. It was the type of run that reminds you why you love the sport all over again.

Sometimes I get so caught up in work, house work, tasks, chores, etc. it was so refreshing to escape all of that for 40 minutes and appreciate the nature surrounding me.

 I ended up going about 40 minutes and just short of 5 miles.

The best part of this beautiful run?!?  I got to spend time with family afterwards! 
RE-FUELING: For dinner we ate lemon pepper rotisserie chicken, gazpacho, and a fresh salad with avocado followed by vanilla ice-cream with fresh strawberries. 

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We ended the night playing a game "Would You Rather' which was quite funny and light hearted.

A nice little evening mid-week.

A nice run

MY RUN: This past weekend's run was beautiful. It was one of those runs that you go outside because it is just too gorgeous not to be outside and you start jogging and pretty soon you have run tons of miles.  I enjoyed every minute of my "joy run." I didn't wear a watch, so I don't know how long I ran, but I was able to map it online and discovered I went exactly 6 miles.

 It felt like I was in paradise or I was running in a dream.  I love runs like that and take advantage when I get one!  No knee pain, no stomach aches, no headaches, no thirst, just perfect happy running!

I made sure to put tons of sunscreen on. My mother-in-law actually bought me this powder SPF 50 that works wonderfully when I run.

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It is water resistant and has minerals.  Great for touching up mid-day or prepping for a hot run outside.

Sometimes I have to remind myself how thankful I am to live in a great place for running.  Life goes by so fast, sometimes we have to stop and enjoy what surrounds us.  I truly believe there is beauty hidden in almost everything if we look hard enough. 

I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday! 

Questions:

Do you prefer to run outside or on the treadmill?

What is your favorite time of the day/week to run?
Mine is on Sunday around 1-3pm. Nothing like a laid-back Sunday fun run. (oh and it has to be sunny and 80s too haha)

Wedding Recap: The Rehearsal Dinner

Oh beautiful February! 

MY RUN: My Workout today was a quick run after work. I decided to do 4 treadmill miles since it was gloomy outside.  I watched Friday Night Lights on Netflix during the run. Love that show

Anyways, I hope you are having a wonderful start to the week so far. February gets me in the spirit of Romance. I decided to continue recapping one of the most romantic days of my life- My Wedding Adventure.  Right where I left off..  "The Rehearsal Dinner"

Sitting down to write my wedding recap is therapeutic in a way.  I love reliving the most amazing day of my life.  It brings back so much joy, I can feel all the emotions as if it were yesterday- excitement, relentless, happiness, joy, energy, desire, love, anxiousness, peace, ...all the emotions surrounding the day my best friend became my husband. What a great Day!

We decided to have the rehearsal dinner at a Cuban restaurant we discovered a few months prior.  It was a few miles from the church we were practicing at and seemed to fit the bill, so to speak.

Bryan and I both decided to give out our bridal party gifts at the dinner.  Mine were very DIY. I wanted them to be personal to each bridesmaid.

I gave them each a framed picture of us with a poem about standing by my side, a martini glass with their initials in rhinestones, and a Vera Bradley wallet.

The Bridesmaids (minus one) at the rehearsal

After dinner Bryan and I wanted to do something out of the box so we took everyone on a 1block walk to Sloan's Ice cream Parlor.  It was meaningful because it was where Bryan and I first shared our first Brownie Ice cream sundae the night we met.

At Sloan's Ice Cream Parlor

I was so incredibly excited and happy that night. I couldn't believe that all the planning had finally ended and the big day was less than 12 hours away!

With the groom

It was so nice to see all of our friends and family together at the dinner and dessert.  But afterwards, Bryan and I snuck away with two of our friends to have a final kiss before the big day.

The next time I would see him would be in my wedding dress!!!!!!  EEEEKKKKK! I was Sooo Sooo Excited! 

I went back to my condo that night with my friend and bridesmaid Sarah.  I couldn't imagine having slept alone that night- she was so supportive and got everything ready for the girls to come over at 5am the next morning while she sent me off to bed for my beauty sleep.  I am so lucky to have such amazing friends!

 

Super Bowl Sunday

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! I decided to sleep in today and am planning on going for a run later this afternoon. Hopefully around 30min or so. It is just gorgeous out today!

In the meantime, I have been enjoying some Dunkin Donuts "Old Fashioned Donut" coffee while reading blogs. I could get used to this type of Sunday morning.  Normally I am rushing out the door to church, but I decided to catch a 5pm service at my church last night and loved it!  I think I will make this a regular part of my schedule more often.

 

I am also loving this "new-to-me" website called Houzz.com

There are some great home renovation ideas on here!  I love this!  

 

So far it's been a nice weekend! 



This past Friday night, Bryan and I decided to go on a date night.  We have both been so busy with work/home renovations that we needed some time for just us.  It ended up being a great night- we were able to just hang out and laugh together, which was so needed.

 

We also made brownie sundaes and watched the movie "Playing For Keeps" with Jessica Biel. 

Source ~ Ad from last year

Although I love Jessica Biel as an actress, I do have to wonder why she chose this role.  She was good in the movie, but the plot was lacking a bit. Oh well, classic chick flick I guess ;-)

 

Today I am making the most of the sunny, 80s weather.

As you can see, our back pool area still has a lot of work to be done- but it looks 10 times better than it did a month ago. 

Our back pool area, 1 month ago

February is the month we are finally going to get some gorgeous landscaping put in. I can't wait!  Imagine palm trees and bamboo shoots!  YES! So glad we put in new screen so we can actually enjoy it.

Well, I am off for a run!  I am going to be catching the game downtown later tonight.  Have a great Super Bowl Sunday!

Question:
What's your favorite Super Bowl party snack? What are you making this year?

I decided to try my hand at coleslaw for the first time. Despite popular beliefs, there are actually a lot of healthy options out there (its all about the dressing you use) and I bought a coleslaw spice mix that will make it delicious no matter what, lol. how do I know?  First ingredient - SUGAR. (okay maybe it wont be that healthy after all, when-in-Rome)